The Shapes We Take

In this episode, host Celeste Fernandez sits down with Amanda Bearce — wellness coach, business owner, mother, and partner — for an honest conversation about what it really means to stop surviving and start living. Amanda opens up about a pivotal moment with her daughter that cracked her out of chronic anxiety and constant go mode, and how she began rebuilding her life around sustainable self-care...

In this powerful conversation, Celeste Fernandez sits down with Alma Thomas, whose life has been reshaped by the loss of her only son, an apartment fire, a debilitating stroke, and a recent cancer diagnosis. From the depths of grief to becoming an international speaker from her bed, Alma shares how faith, mental health support, and a stubborn "bounce-back spirit" helped her turn pain into purpose....

In this episode, Celeste sits down with Michelle Steiner—writer, advocate, para educator, and photographer—to explore what it means to build a meaningful life while living with a learning disability. Michelle shares how early doubts about her potential shaped her, how she moved from grief to acceptance, and why she now sees her disability as a source of unique insight and connection. From college...

In this episode of The Shapes We Take, Celeste speaks with Lorina Manzanita, a PhD student in human sexuality and a sex and relationship coach exploring the intersection of ethics, trauma, and psychedelic healing. Lorina shares how concepts like regulation, imaginal cells, microcultures of coherence, shadow work, and the wounded healer archetype shape her personal journey and professional work. To...

In this episode of The Shapes We Take Podcast, host Celeste Fernandez sits down with Cynthia Joy Towner, a stroke survivor, speaker, and creator whose life was radically reshaped after a brain injury changed her mobility, motherhood, marriage, and sense of self. Cynthia shares how growing up on the South Side of Chicago, losing her mother young, and surviving a stroke led her from feeling worthles...

In this episode, Celeste sits down with Vedant, a lifelong creative who has wrestled with burnout, hustle culture, and the quiet grief of not becoming who he once thought he'd be. Together, they explore redefining success beyond big-name brands and linear careers, learning to slow down in a culture obsessed with productivity, and honoring the "jungle gym" nature of modern creative paths. Vedant sh...

In this opening episode, host Celeste Fernandez introduces The Shapes We Take as a reflective space for honest conversations about the quiet, unfinished parts of life. Rather than focusing on glossy before-and-after stories, the show centers on the in‑between: the doubts, turning points, and subtle realizations that reshape who we are. Using the metaphor of a life as a piece of sculpture, Celeste...

In this introductory episode of The Shapes We Take Podcast, host Celeste Fernandez sets the tone for a series of honest, reflective conversations about the moments that quietly reshape who we are. Rather than focusing on polished, hindsight narratives, the show stays inside the "in-between" — the tensions, questions, and transitions that leave us still forming. Celeste invites listeners into a spa...